MORAL MINDS: HOW Nature Designed Our Universal Sense of Right and wrong

MARC D. HAUSER

Philosophers have long debated how a person develops a sense of morality. According to Hauser, the director of the cognitive-evolution laboratory at Harvard University, morality comes hardwired in the human brain, a consequence of our evolution as social animals. Similar to our inherent capacity for language is an inherent, universal moral grammar with which we evaluate our behavior and that of others. With this sense, we have developed legal codes, religions, and ethical standards for use in medicine, the military, and interpersonal relationships. Hauser explains how philosophers have tackled the role of emotions in exercising moral sense, and how psychologists have analyzed moral development in children. He also looks at how moral judgments, especially in regard to violent action in defense of honor, can vary across cultures. HarperCollins, 2006, 489 p., hardcover, $27. 95.

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